Mr. Speaker, I would simply like to say that I am a long way from thinking that this whole business in the House began with the statement by my colleague, the member for Rimouski—Mitis. It was inevitable that there would one day be an attempt to use the symbols of Canadian unity to rally everyone against the nasty separatists.
The member for Rimouski—Mitis was certainly not going to go to the Olympic village to disturb Canadian athletes during their preparations for the various competitions in order to tell them there were too many Canadian flags and that they should curb their excessive display. She simply made an inherently innocuous comment to the effect that there were too many Canadian flags. If, through immaturity, hon. members flared up and used the Canadian flag for purposes other than those for which it was designed, well, that is their problem.
To those who say that Bloc Quebecois members and sovereigntists in Quebec generally do not show respect for the symbols of Canadian sovereignty, I say that we have never treated the Canadian flag with as little respect, as little regard and as little dignity as the federalist members in this House. We never used our flag, the fleur-de-lis, to take part in this disgraceful demonstration in the House.
Yet, the House apparently expected that, on our election to office in 1993, we would march in, drums beating and fleur-de-lis held high, to show our pride. That is something we never did, because we respect the institution, we respect the rules of the House, and we respect our colleagues.
